A Prayer For A Child Leaving Home

A Prayer for a Child Leaving Home

O God, as time passes,

I watch the walls of our home

Swell and expand,

And then get smaller, quieter

With the memories of us.

O God, as time passes,

I feel the corners of my heart

Swell and expand,

And then get larger, louder

With the memories of us.

As this child makes their own way

With moving boxes and packing tape,

Hand-me-down couches,

And brand-new dreams of their own,

Guide their heart,

Protect their spirit,

And help me let them go.

For in long days and short years,

I’ve seen them grow into more

Of who You’ve made them to be,

And I’ve grown more into myself too.

As they walk this unfamiliar path,

I see the adult they’ve become

And the little one they’ll always be to me.

As they lift heavy boxes up the stairs,

May they know that with them

They carry years of love,

Poured out from parent to child

And child to parent.

As they rest their head at night

In the new dwelling they call home,

May they know that love carries them—

That You always have

And always will—

Through life’s unexpected journeys,

Yesterday’s dark nights,

And tomorrow’s bright mornings.

As they rise in the light of a new day,

Help their feet find the right path

For where to go and how to walk in love

In this big world where

Beauty and brokenness coexist.

Whisper into their hearts

The road to follow as they embark

On this new journey—

One they must navigate on their own.

O God, lead them when we cannot,

For we cannot prepare

The journeys our children must take.

And we pray that somehow,

Through the years,

We have prepared our children

For the journeys set ahead for them.

On the twisting roads

And winding paths,

May they know that they never need to knock

And that they’ll always have a place

In our heart

And in our home.

Psalm 25:4-5